The Ultimate Pontiac GTO Picture Site
by Sean Mattingly.
There's no bigger GTO image collection anywhere!
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FRAME-OFF RESTORATION GALLERY
Let's do a frame-off on a 1965
GTO Hardtop In
words and pictures.
Craig George (mrgto1965@starband.net) shows us the process of restoring his 1965 GTO
Hardtop.
CLICK->
The floor required replacement. CLICK->
View of the floor replacement panels at the rear seat. Lots of welding to put these in. CLICK->
Craig sends in some updates on the progress of his 1965 GTO restoration. Craig tells us, "Here are some recent pics of the ongoing frame-off restoration of my 1965 GTO 4-speed hardtop. The entire drivetrain has been completely rebuilt and reinstalled in the blasted, reinforced, primed and painted chassis. All brake lines, brake assemblies and fuel system components are new. The bodywork has been done at B & B Sandblasting in Muncie where they will reunite body and chassis. I will then spend the winter reassembling the car with the help of my friends at the Indy GTO Club! This is the last Goat ressurrection I will be able to do because of the on-going complications from Parkinson's Disease." CLICK->
View of the top-side of Craig's primed 1965 GTO body. CLICK->
Wet sanding the primer. This guy is using a piece of sandpaper and a water hose. CLICK->
The third coat of color gets sprayed on the dash. CLICK->
The base instrument cluster panel is painted silver. CLICK->
The outside of the dash cluster also a coat of turquoise paint. CLICK->
The front fenders are ready for their final primer coat. CLICK->
The doors and front fenders are in the paint booth waiting to dry. CLICK->
Time to install the steering linkages. I bet it's nice to have all that room to do the work. Craig tells us more, "This photo was taken at Lincoln Tech in Indianapolis in October 2004. My younger son David graduated with Honors two months later. He has been helping on the rebuild and is even more annxious than I am to hear the '65 block fire again for the first time in 32 years. It only required an .030 overbore!" CLICK->
The wheels are on. CLICK->
The fresh 389 engine is sitting on an engine stand in the back of a pickup truck. Craig, on the right, is going to lower the engine into the chassis. CLICK->
Lowering the engine onto the motor mounts. Easy does it. Craig adds, "Aren't those Crane roller rockers pretty! Here is where we discover the oil filter won't clear the lower A arm mount. We had to add two washers to all six engine mount bolts AND take the Sawzall and a grinder to the A arm mount. That was nothing compared to cutting, fitting and mounting the headers. Stay tuned!" CLICK->
Looks like the car is back at Craig's shop. Craig and two helpers are putting the body back on the frame with a forklift. The forklift has chains on it so it won't tip over onto the car.
Here's a comment from a recent visitor...
Says Victor in the UK - "Popped in today...first time I've had a wander round your site. Over here in blighty GTOs are few and far. Nice site, easy to navigate and lots of GOOD QUALITY content. Top show chaps keep up the good work."
